Introduction

python-xmltv is a Python module that provides access to XMLTV data. XMLTV is an XML format for storing TV listings.

More information on XMLTV can be found at http://membled.com/work/apps/xmltv/

Requirements

python-xmltv requires ElementTree, which can be found at http://effbot.org/zone/element-index.htm

Installing

Get python-xmltv from http://www.funktronics.ca/python-xmltv/releases/python-xmltv-1.3.tar.gz

After untarring, you can install it with the following command:

python setup.py install

Usage

Usage of the module is generally straight-forward:

import xmltv
from pprint import pprint

# If you need to change the locale:
# xmltv.locale = 'Latin-1'

# If you need to change the date format used in the XMLTV file:
# xmltv.date_format = '%Y%m%d%H%M%S %Z'

filename = '/path/to/xmltv/file'

# Print info for XMLTV file (source, etc.)
pprint(xmltv.read_data(open(filename, 'r')))

# Print channels
pprint(xmltv.read_channels(open(filename, 'r')))

# Print programmes
pprint(xmltv.read_programmes(open(filename, 'r')))

There are currently three functions for reading that should be used:

read_data (file_object) -> dict

Get the source and other info from an XMLTV file.

Returns a dictionary of <tv> attributes, eg:

{'date': u'20030702230041 -0300',
 'generator-info-name': u'tv_grab_na V3.20030629',
 'generator-info-url': u'http://sourceforge.net/projects/xmltv',
 'source-info-name': u'Zap2It',
 'source-info-url': u'http://www.zap2it.com'}

read_channels (file_object) -> list

Get all of the channels.

Returns a list of hashes, each representing a channel, eg:

[{'display-name': [(u'Channel 10 ELTV', u'')],
  'id': u'C10eltv.zap2it.com'},
 {'display-name': [(u'Channel 11 CBHT', u'')],
  'icon': [{'desc': '','src': u'http://tvlistings2.zap2it.com/tms_network_logos/cbc.gif'}],
  'id': u'C11cbht.zap2it.com'}]

read_programmes (file_object) -> list

Get all of the programmes.

Returns a list of hashes, each representing a programme, eg:

[{'audio': [{'stereo': [u'stereo']}],
  'category': [(u'Biz', u''), (u'Fin', u'')],
  'channel': u'C23robtv.zap2it.com',
  'start': u'20030702000000 ADT',
  'stop': u'20030702003000 ADT',
  'title': [(u'This Week in Business', u'')]},
 {'audio': [{'stereo': [u'stereo']}],
  'channel': u'C36wuhf.zap2it.com',
  'desc': [(u'In an effort to grow up, George proposes marriage to former girlfriend Susan.',
            u'')],
  'rating': [{'system': u'VCHIP', 'value': u'PG'}],
  'start': u'20030702000000 ADT',
  'stop': u'20030702003000 ADT',
  'sub-title': [(u'The Engagement', u'')],
  'subtitles': [{'type': u'teletext'}],
  'title': [(u'Seinfeld', u'')]}]

There is also a Writer class. It should always write proper XMLTV data. All strings, except for dictionary keys, should be in Unicode.

It contains the following methods:

__init__ (fp, encoding="iso-8859-1", date=None, source_info_url=None, source_info_name=None, generator_info_url=None, generator_info_name=None) -> Writer

Returns a Writer object.

Arguments:

fp

A File object to write XMLTV data to

encoding

The text encoding that will be used. Defaults to ``iso-8859-1``

date

The date this data was generated. Optional

source_info_url

A URL for information about the source of the data. Optional

source_info_name

A human readable description of source_info_url. Optional

generator_info_url

A URL for information about the program that is generating the XMLTV document. Optional

generator_info_name

A human readable description of generator_info_url. Optional

write_channel (channel)

Write a channel dictionary

Here's an example channel dictionary:

{'display-name': [(u'Channel 11 CBHT', u'en')],
 'icon': [{'src': u'http://tvlistings2.zap2it.com/tms_network_logos/cbc.gif'}],
 'id': u'C11cbht.zap2it.com',
 'url': u:'http://www.cbc.com'}

write_programme (programme)

Write a programme dictionary

Here's an example programme dictionary:

{'audio': [{'stereo': u'stereo'}],
 'category': [(u'Comedy', u'')],
 'channel': u'C36wuhf.zap2it.com',
 'country': [(u'USA', u'')],
 'credits': [{'producer': [u'Larry David'], 'actor': [u'Jerry Seinfeld']}],
 'date': [u'1995'],
 'desc': [(u'In an effort to grow up, George proposes marriage to former girlfriend Susan.',
           u'')],
 'episode-num': [(u'7 . 1 . 1/1', u'xmltv_ns')],
 'language': [(u'English', u'')],
 'last-chance': [(u'Hah!', u'')],
 'length': [{'units': u'minutes', 'length': 22}],
 'new': [1],
 'orig-language': [(u'English', u'')],
 'premiere': [(u'Not really. Just testing', u'en')],
 'previously-shown': [{'channel': u'C12whdh.zap2it.com',
                       'start': u'19950921103000 ADT'}],
 'rating': [{'icon': [{'height': u'64',
                       'src': u'http://some.ratings/PGicon.png',
                       'width': u'64'}],
             'system': u'VCHIP',
             'value': u'PG'}],
 'star-rating': [{'icon': [{'height': u'32',
                            'src': u'http://some.star/icon.png',
                            'width': u'32'}],
                  'value': u'4/5'}],
 'start': u'20030702000000 ADT',
 'stop': u'20030702003000 ADT',
 'sub-title': [(u'The Engagement', u'')],
 'subtitles': [{'type': u'teletext', 'language': (u'English', u'')}],
 'title': [(u'Seinfeld', u'')],
 'video': [{'colour': 1, 'aspect': u'4:3', 'present': 1}]}

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Reporting Bugs

Please send all bugs, comments, and questions to James Oakley <jfunk@funktronics.ca>